Method of making a bonded hem using an elastic strip with a raised fleece surface

ABSTRACT

A method of making a bonded hem includes sandwiching a body member between a first adhesive film and a second adhesive film, placing a fabric sheet upon the first adhesive film and fusing the first adhesive film to bond onto the body member and the fabric sheet, flipping the fabric sheet to form a first fold line and a second fold line, and fusing the second adhesive film to bond onto the fabric sheet to form the bonded hem.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119(e), this application claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/827,218, filed Sep. 28, 2006, thecontents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, elastic ribbons as used in hems, seams, straps and otherparts of undergarments have been stitched in places nearby the fabricedge with zigzag laid down and folded elastic ribbon. However, thestitching can come loose to cause unsightly fraying, and the fabric edgecan cause discomfort to a user. Moreover, stitching elastic to fabriccan be a time-consuming process.

Consequently, it is desirable to develop elastic ribbons with improvedstructural integrity and comfort. It is also desirable to provide animproved means of attaching elastic to fabric.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect, a method of making a bonded hem includessandwiching a body member between a first adhesive film and a secondadhesive film, placing a fabric sheet upon the first adhesive film,fusing the first adhesive film to bond onto the body member and thefabric sheet, flipping the fabric sheet to form a first fold line and asecond fold line, and fusing the second adhesive film to bond onto thefabric sheet to form the bonded hem.

According to another aspect, another method of making a bonded hemincludes sandwiching a body member between a first adhesive film and asecond adhesive film, placing an edge of a fabric sheet upon the firstadhesive film, fusing the first adhesive film to bond onto the bodymember and the fabric sheet, flipping the fabric sheet to form a singlefold line, and fusing the second adhesive film to bond onto the fabricsheet to form the bonded hem.

According to a further aspect, a bonded hem may include a body member, afirst adhesive film on a first side of the body member, a secondadhesive film on a second side of the body member, a folded fabric sheetextended about the body member along a fold line and fused to the firstand second adhesive films, and an unfused seam margin formed inwardlyfrom the fold line.

According to another aspect, a bonded hem may include a body member, anadhesive film folded about the body member, a folded fabric sheetextended about the body member along a fold line and fused to theadhesive film, and an unfused seam margin formed inwardly from the foldline.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts the first step of a first method of making a bonded hemin a sheet of fabric.

FIG. 2 depicts the second step of the first method of making a bondedhem in a sheet of fabric.

FIG. 3 depicts the third step of the first method of making a bonded hemin a sheet of fabric.

FIG. 4 depicts the fourth step of the first method of making a bondedhem in a sheet of fabric.

FIG. 5 depicts the first step of a second method of making a bonded hemin a sheet of fabric.

FIG. 6 depicts the second step of the second method of making a bondedhem in a sheet of fabric.

FIG. 7 depicts the third step of the second method of making a bondedhem in a sheet of fabric.

FIG. 8 depicts the fourth step of the second method of making a bondedhem in a sheet of fabric.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to a particular embodiment of theinvention, examples of which are also provided in the followingdescription. Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described indetail, although it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevantart that some features that are not particularly important to anunderstanding of the invention may not be shown for the sake of clarity.

Furthermore, it should be understood that the invention is not limitedto the precise embodiments described below and that various changes andmodifications thereof may be effected by one skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example,elements and/or features of different illustrative embodiments may becombined with each other and/or substituted for each other within thescope of this disclosure and appended claims. In addition, improvementsand modifications which may become apparent to persons of ordinary skillin the art after reading this disclosure, the drawings, and the appendedclaims are deemed within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

A method of making a bonded hem 20 includes sandwiching a body member 10between a first adhesive film 11 and a second adhesive film 12, placinga fabric sheet 13 upon the first adhesive film 11, fusing the firstadhesive film 11 to bond onto the body member 10 and the fabric sheet13, flipping the fabric sheet 13 to form a first fold line F1 and asecond fold line F2, and fusing the second adhesive film 12 to bond ontothe fabric sheet 13 to form the bonded hem 20, as depicted in FIGS. 1 to4.

In the first step, the body member 10 may be sandwiched between thefirst adhesive film 11 and the second adhesive film 12, as depicted inFIG. 1. The first adhesive film 11 and the second adhesive film 12 maybe separate, or they may be a single adhesive film folded about the bodymember 10. For example, the body member 10 may be an elastic ribbon. Theadhesive films 11 and 12 may be made of polyurethane, thermo-adhesive,or any other suitable material known to one skilled in the art. Forexample, adhesive films 11 and 12 may include thermally activatedadhesive that can melt under the application of heat from an iron orpress. The first adhesive film 11 may not be as wide as the secondadhesive film 12, and preferably is about half the width of the secondadhesive film 12.

In the second step, the fabric sheet 13 may be placed upon the bodymember 10 and first adhesive film 11, and may extend away from the bodymember 10, as depicted in FIG. 2. The fabric sheet 13 may be made ofpolyester, cotton, nylon, nylon lycra, or any other suitable materialknown to one skilled in the art. Heat and pressure may be applied tofuse the first adhesive film 11 and to cause bonding to both the bodymember 10 and the fabric sheet 13, as indicated by arrows 14 a.Optionally, heat and pressure may also be applied to fuse the secondadhesive film 12, as indicated by arrows 14 b.

In the third step, the fabric sheet 13 may be flipped over in thedirection of arrow F to form the first fold line F1 and the second foldline F2, as depicted in FIG. 3. The fabric sheet 13 may extend aroundboth adhesive films 11 and 12 to the under-side of the body member 10,as depicted in FIG. 4.

In the fourth step, heat and pressure may be applied as indicated byarrows 14 c to fuse the second adhesive film 12 to cause bonding to thefabric sheet 13 and to form the bonded hem 20 with a permanentstitchless seam, as depicted in FIG. 4. Preferably, heat and pressuremay be applied to a band 15 that is spaced inwardly from the first foldline F1, thereby leaving an unfused seam margin around an edge zone.

Consequently, the first fold line F1 may cover the edges of the fabricsheet 13, the body member 10, and the films 11 and 12, which makes theseam so formed on a garment less skin-irritating and more comfortable toa user. Moreover, the skin-facing side of the body member 10 may beinitially formed with an optional raised fleecy surface 10′, as depictedin FIG. 1, which may provide additional softness to the garment andcomfort to the user. The optional raised fleecy surface 10′ may beformed, for example, by brushing or scratching.

Another method of making a bonded hem 20′ includes sandwiching a bodymember 10″ between a first adhesive film 11′ and a second adhesive film12′, placing an edge 16 of a fabric sheet 13′ upon the first adhesivefilm 11′, fusing the first adhesive film 11′ to bond onto the bodymember 10″ and the fabric sheet 13′, flipping the fabric sheet 13′ toform a single fold line F1′, and fusing the second adhesive film 12′ tobond onto the fabric sheet 13′ to form the bonded hem 20′, as depictedin FIGS. 5 to 8.

In the first step, the body member 10″ may be sandwiched between thefirst adhesive film 11′ and the second adhesive film 12′, as depicted inFIG. 5. The first adhesive film 11′ and the second adhesive film 12′ maybe separate, or they may be a single adhesive film folded about the bodymember 10″. For example, the body member 10″ may be an elastic ribbon.The adhesive films 11′ and 12′ may be made of polyurethane,thermo-adhesive, or any other suitable material known to one skilled inthe art. For example, adhesive films 11′ and 12′ may include thermallyactivated adhesive that can melt under the application of heat from aniron or press. The first adhesive film 11′ may not be as wide as thesecond adhesive film 12′, and preferably is about half the width of thesecond adhesive film 12′.

In the second step, the edge 16 of the fabric sheet 13′ may then beplaced upon the body member 10″ and first adhesive film 11′, and mayextend away from the body member 10″, as depicted in FIG. 6. The fabricsheet 13′ may be made of polyester, cotton, nylon, nylon lycra, or anyother suitable material known to one of skilled in the art. The edge 16of the fabric sheet 13′ may be formed by cutting the fabric sheet 13′using an ultrasonic cutting machine, although other machines that areknown to one skilled in the art may also be used. Heat and pressure maybe applied to fuse the first adhesive film 11′ and to cause bonding toboth the body member 10″ and the fabric sheet 13′, as indicated byarrows 14 a′. Optionally, heat and pressure may also be applied to fusethe second adhesive film 12′, as indicated by arrows 14 b′.

In the third step, the fabric sheet 13′ may be flipped over in thedirection of arrow F′ to form the single fold line F1′, as depicted inFIG. 7. The fabric sheet 13′ may extend around both adhesive films 11′and 12′ to the under-side of the body member 10″, as depicted in FIG. 8.

In the fourth step, heat and pressure may be applied as indicated byarrows 14 c′ to fuse the second adhesive film 12′ to cause bonding tothe fabric sheet 13′ and to form the bonded hem 20′ with a permanentstitchless seam, as depicted in FIG. 8. Preferably, heat and pressuremay be applied to a band 15′ that is spaced inwardly from the fold lineF1′, thereby leaving an unfused seam margin around an edge zone.

Consequently, the first fold line F1′ may cover the edges of the fabricsheet 13′, the body member 10″, and the films 11′ and 12′, which makesthe seam so formed on a garment less skin-irritating and morecomfortable to a user. Moreover, the skin-facing side of the body member10″ may be initially formed with an optional raised fleecy surface 10′″,as depicted in FIG. 5, which may provide additional softness to thegarment and comfort to the user. The optional raised fleecy surface 10′″may be formed, for example, by brushing or scratching.

A bonded hem 20 may include the body member 10, the first adhesive film11 on a first side of the body member 10, the second adhesive film 12 ona second side of the body member 10, the folded fabric sheet 13 extendedabout the body member 10 along a fold line F1 and fused to the first andsecond adhesive films 11 and 12, and an unfused seam margin formedinwardly from the fold line F1, as depicted in FIG. 4. The first andsecond adhesive films 11 and 12 may be separate films, or they may be asingle adhesive film folded about the body member 10.

A bonded hem 20′ may include the body member 10″, the first adhesivefilm 11′ on a first side of the body member 10″, the second adhesivefilm 12′ on a second side of the body member 10″, the folded fabricsheet 13′ extended about the body member 10″ along a fold line F1′ andfused to the first and second adhesive films 11′ and 12′, and an unfusedseam margin formed inwardly from the fold line F1′, as depicted in FIG.8. The first and second adhesive films 11′ and 12′ may be separatefilms, or they may be a single adhesive film folded about the bodymember 10″.

It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations obvious tothose skilled in the art are not to be considered as beyond the scope ofthe present invention. More particularly, although not exclusively, theinvention relates to elastic hems, seams, straps and the like forgarments.

While the examples of the methods and products have been described, itshould be understood that the methods and products are not so limited,and modifications may be made. The scope of the method and products isdefined by the appended claims, and all methods and products that comewithin the meaning of the claims, either literally or by equivalence,are intended to be embraced therein.

1. A method of making a bonded hem, comprising: sandwiching an elasticbody member between a first adhesive film and a second adhesive film;placing an edge of a fabric sheet upon said first adhesive film; fusingsaid first adhesive film to bond onto said elastic body member and saidfabric sheet; flipping said fabric sheet to form a single fold; fusingsaid second adhesive film to bond onto said fabric sheet to form saidbonded hem; and forming a raised fleecy surface on one side of saidelastic body member.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingapplying heat and pressure to form a band that is spaced inwardly fromsaid fold line and leaving an unfused seam margin.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising forming said edge of said fabric sheet bycutting said fabric sheet using an ultrasonic cutting machine.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, where said first and said second adhesive films are asingle adhesive film folded about said elastic body member.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said adhesive film is made ofthermo-adhesive.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said fabric sheet isselected from the group consisting of polyester, cotton, nylon, nylonlycra, or combinations thereof.
 7. A method of making a bonded hem,comprising: sandwiching an elastic body member between a first adhesivefilm and a second adhesive film; placing a fabric sheet upon said firstadhesive film; fusing said first adhesive film to bond onto said elasticbody member and said fabric sheet; flipping said fabric sheet to form afirst fold covering edges of the fabric sheet and the elastic bodymember and a second fold on the elastic body member; fusing the secondadhesive film to bond onto the fabric sheet to form said bonded hem; andforming a raised fleecy surface on one side of said elastic body member.8. The method of claim 7, further comprising applying heat and pressureto form a band that is spaced inwardly from said first fold line andleaving an unfused seam margin.
 9. The method of claim 7, where saidfirst and said second adhesive films are a single adhesive film foldedabout said elastic body member.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein saidadhesive films are made of thermo-adhesive.
 11. The method of claim 7,wherein said fabric sheet is selected from the group consisting ofpolyester, cotton, nylon, nylon lycra, or combinations thereof.